As a child, Alain Robert was afraid of heights. When he was 12, he returned home from school. At the front door of his building, he looked for his keys. he didn't have them. It was 3:30 and his parents worked until 6:00 pm. Alain looked at his apartment on the eighth floor. He saw an open window. He closed his eyes and imagined himself climbing the building. When he opened his eyes, he told himself ,"I can do it." Fifteen minutes later, he was in his house and his fear of heights was gone.

    Today, Alain still climbs buildings. In 2003 , he climbed a building in London dressed as Spiderman(蜘蛛人) to advertise the movie. In 2004, he climbed Taipei 101 (one of the tallest buildings in the world). To reach the top of a building, Alain uses only his hands and special shoes. He has no rope or other safety tools.

    Alain climbs as a hobby. He also does it to make money for charity. When he climbs, he wants to send a message to people. If you have a dream—something you really want to do—it can become real. But you must be brave and keep trying. If something bad happens, don't give up. Close your eyes and tell yourself, "I can do it."

    A few years ago I had an “aha!” moment regarding handwriting.

    I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task. It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting, and then I realized whose it must be. I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year, maybe two, and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point.

    It was a very important event in the computerization of life-a sign that the informal. Friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails. There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters, and we recognized one another's handwriting the way we knew voices or faces.

    As a child visiting my father's office, I was pleased to recognize, in little notes on the desks of his staff, the same handwriting I would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge—except that those notes were signed “dad” instead of “RFW”.

    All this has been on my mind because of the talk about The Rise and Fall of Handwriting, a book by Florey. She shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well, but many others argue that people in a digital age can't be expected to learn to hold a pen.

    I don't buy it.

    I don't want to see anyone cut off from the expressive, personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does. For many a biographer, part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting.

    What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16^th-century Italy. That may sound impossibly grand-as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings. However, they have worked in many school systems.

    “Why do I live? Why do I wish for anything, or do anything? Is there anything in my life that will not be destroyed by my death?”

    These are the words of the famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. Like Tolstoy, many people ask these difficult questions. And they struggle to find meaning in their life. Tolstoy spent his whole life trying to answer difficult questions like these. His search for answers influenced his writing.

    On August 28th, 1828, Leo Tolstoy was born in the country of Russia.

    As a child, Tolstoy was a member of the Russian Catholic Church. But as a young man, he began to question that faith. Tolstoy wanted to make his own moral decisions; he was tired of being told what to believe. He thought people could achieve a degree of perfection if they tried hard enough. So he worked very hard at being the best in everything he did. He thought that he would find meaning and truth in success.

    In the 1850s, Leo Tolstoy wrote his first stories. He wrote about his experiences in the army He also told stories about when he was a child. These works were published and Tolstoy became a well-known writer.

    Tolstoy was finally successful. He earned the respect he always wanted. Many wealthy and intelligent men met and talked with Tolstoy. Some of the men were writers like him. They talked a lot about faith and the meaning of life. But soon Tolstoy recognized that these men were not perfect. Now he knew they could not answer his questions about faith.

    So in the 1860s, Tolstoy tried a different way to find meaning. He opened a school for the children of his serfs -the people who worked on his land. These workers were very poor. He wanted to help them because he thought they were more honest than the wealthy people he knew.

    Tolstoy learned many things from his workers. He respected how they worked hard to provide for their families. He began to believe that marriage and family would give his life meaning. So in 1862, Leo Tolstoy married a young woman named Sonya Behrs.

    The next 15 years were the best years of Tolstoy's life. It was during this time that he wrote his most famous books -War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Many literature experts say that War and Peace is one of the greatest books ever written.

    Both War and Peace and Anna Karenina communicate Tolstoy's beliefs about the Russian nation, church and people. They also communicate what he thought was the answer to all his questions. Tolstoy believed humans were supposed to live a simple lite and take care of their families. Tolstoy thought this would satisfy him and bring him happiness.

    Leo Tolstoy is still a very respected writer today. His faith and writings have influenced many people. Tolstoy's search for the meaning of life is something everyone can understand. His teachings still interest people all over the world.

    Life in the summertime is often full of pests. Like most Long Island homeowners, I want to ensure my suburban life with pest-free living. So it was with wide-eyed wonder that I greeted the smiling exterminator (灭虫者) who rang my bell.

    “We'll be serving your neighbors, Mike and Sarah (I'm not familiar with either one by name),” he waved in the other direction. “Since we'll have a team here tomorrow, we're offering a discount.” He came out with numbers beginning from $299 then in seconds to $89.

    “You've probably been seeing the ant hills around.” he moved toward my front walkway and lawn. “And have you seen the bees that dig nests in the ground?” he continued with his head shaking up and down pushing me to do the same.

    “What we do is spray three feet out from your foundation and three feet up.” As he was talking, and without breaking eye contact, he opened his iPad cover and began operating at the screen to show me frightening images. “It also kills other pests, like spiders. It is the best pesticide (杀虫剂),” he said, pausing for effect.

    He then went into soft talk to close the deal, correctly foreseeing that I would be concerned about safety and the environmental impact on my vegetable garden, plants and our little patch of planet here on Long Island. “The products are environmentally responsible, safe with children and pets,” he said.

    I'm unkind when it comes to unwanted visitors entering on my out-of-doors moments. Any insect found in my house or on my deck is bound to be poisoned or pancaked.

    Unfortunately for the exterminator, just as I was considering making an appointment, Billy, my fearless husband, pulled into our driveway, which made me ask for a business card out of politeness instead.

Yesterday, I went to the bookstore to pick up a present for my mother's upcoming birthday. I found one of the books I wanted, but not the other one my mother had discussed with me the other day. When I went to pay. I asked the clerk behind the counter if I could order the second book.

A lady was standing in line behind me at the checkout. The clerk said she could order the book. but asked if I would mind letting the lady behind me pay for her purchases first. The lady behind me said no and that it was fine to wait.

It took nearly 15 minutes to put my order through! The lady behind me chatted agreeably with us for the entire time. When it finally came time for me to pay, I placed two $10 off cards on the counter. The clerk informed me the offer was only valid(有效) for the book I was purchasing in-store and wouldn't work for the book I'd ordered. This meant that I'd have one $ 10 card left.

"You can come back and purchase another book." the clerk smiled. "The offer is valid until the end of the week."

I thought about this for a millisecond and then turned around to face the lady behind me who'd been so patient, kind, and charming through the very long wait at the checkout. "Here." I gave her the $10 off card. She was very surprised and said. "Really?"

The gift didn't cost me anything. I knew I wouldn't be back before the end of the week and it rewarded someone whose attitude left a smile in my heart. Most definitely a win-win moment.

Upon the release of the publication "The Mountain People" by the American ethnologist Colin Turnbull in the year 1972, he characterized the subjects of his study—a Ugandan tribe known as the Ik—as "a populace devoid of affection." Turnbull, after a period of two years spent in observation, concluded that the Ik exemplified the primal tendencies of mankind: deceit, larceny, and a callous indifference to the suffering of others. However, when Athena Aktipis and her associates from the Human Generosity Project delved more profoundly into the matter, they discovered a society that engaged in the communal sharing of all resources. "Turnbull's observations coincided with a calamitous famine in Uganda. What he witnessed was merely a reflection of the dire circumstances that arise when individuals are gripped by hunger," Aktipis remarks. Yet, her research team uncovered that, despite the oppressive conditions they faced, the Ik held in high esteem the act of mutual assistance whenever it was within their means to do so.

Aktipis posits that the phenomenon of selflessness is more pervasive and advantageous than the field of evolutionary social science has historically acknowledged. "The prevailing assumption was that individuals are inherently inclined to act solely in their own interests or those of their kin," she states. By examining the distinctive and unselfish behaviors that have enabled nine communities across the globe to persist, the scholars from the Project aim to demonstrate that humanity is indeed capable of extensive collaboration.

The Maasai populace in Kenya offers a principal illustration of the Project's findings. They depend on reciprocal friendships to secure necessities such as sustenance or hydration during times of scarcity, with no expectation of reciprocation. Similarly, in the distant locale of New Mexico, while individuals frequently render aid in the transportation of livestock and receive support in kind, they will also provide assistance gratuitously in instances of adversity, such as personal injury or the bereavement of a cherished one.

Aktipis is convinced that the theoretical models she has refined through the study of these communities can be broadly applied to any interdependent systems. Her overarching ambition is to devise social-welfare frameworks that offer sustenance to all members of society. Take, for instance, the market-driven insurance models prevalent in the United States: They are priced according to individual risk factors, including health profiles and geographic location, which results in millions of Americans being priced out of coverage. In contrast, a system founded on the principles of communal support and pooled financial resources would distribute the burden equitably during collective trials, such as natural catastrophes and pandemics.